"Acceptance in that context means an active process of being open to feeling what you feel, deeply engaging with it, and learning from it. Acceptance looked at that way is not some kind of passive resignation or tolerance—as if discrimination is somehow OK and we should accept it—nor is it perseverating on how awful it is and how bad it feels. It means my feelings are valid; they are worth my attention."
"This therapist-dedicated, trained, exactly the kind of clinician I'd want working with my family-had been cut off from a community she belonged to, not by anything she'd done, but by a shift in the weather between two countries. My whole life has been about building community around how to alleviate human suffering and to promote human well-being, and here we are living in a world that increasingly divides us."
A therapist unable to cross the border due to safety concerns prompted reflection on how division increasingly separates communities, including helping professionals. This experience led to consideration of acceptance as a source of strength, particularly for those experiencing discrimination. Research demonstrates that Black individuals subjected to racial discrimination experience significantly protected well-being through acceptance. This acceptance differs from passive resignation; instead, it represents an active process of being open to feelings, deeply engaging with them, and learning from the experience. True acceptance validates emotions as worthy of attention while avoiding both dismissal of injustice and rumination on suffering.
#psychological-acceptance #discrimination-and-well-being #psychological-flexibility #community-division #mindfulness-and-act
Read at Psychology Today
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